This won't be long because I haven't had time to really work out my thoughts. But I've had one passage of scripture on my mind recently. I finally looked it up today during worship. It's Galatians 6.7-9.
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
And then, to drive the point home, I opened my Bible this evening to my last marker and it was Psalm 126 (v. 5-6)
Those who sow in tears will reap with joyful shouting. He who goes to and fro weeping carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with a shout of joy bringing his sheaves with him.
The biggest thing about reaping what I sow? I don't reap at the same time I sow. If I sow healthy living today, I won't see the benefit for a while. I'll still be reaping the "lazy" crop. This is one reason that I grow weary in doing good. I change one habit and want to see instantaneous change. And life simply doesn't work that way.
This is why I'm going to try to walk life, reminding myself to be mindful what I sow. Will it kill me to eat one cookie? No. But it will kill me to eat only cookies. I don't want to focus on what that one decision would mean. I want to focus on what seed that one decision would sow.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Meaningless
Good Morning.
I was scrolling through Facebook and saw that one of my dearest friends is starting a blog. (I'm really excited! It's about eating well and losing weight the natural way - check it out here.) This reminded me, to my horror, that I have technically started a blog and yet have not posted anything since my first post.
I'd like to tell you that I haven't been writing because I've been so busy doing. You know, exercising regularly, creating wonderfully delicious meals, and staying on top of my grading and planning. But the truth is, I feel like the best word to describe the past two months is atrophy. So I guess this post is a continuation of the "before shot."
Since I can't write about training for positive change in my life, I thought I'd write about the word that has been echoing in my brain this morning. Meaningless. It's an odd word to write about, I know. What's odder still is the fact that this word brings hope to mind.
It started like this. Friday night, my usual basketball friend wasn't there when I got there. She came later when the wrestling match finished. Since I was surrounded by students, I decided to listen to my ipod. (It's better than listening to the things they talk about and the grammar - or lack thereof - they use to do so.) An accidental playlist choice led me to the album God, by Rebecca St. James, which I hadn't listened to in a long while. I decided to listen from the beginning, remembering how much I'd enjoyed many songs on that CD. One of the songs is called "That's what matters" and is based on King Solomon's book of Ecclesiastes.
Just for a laugh, imagine watching these students you know and love running up and down the court to the tune of "Meaningless, everything is meaningless, a chase after the wind." Not quite the inspiring music. Shortly thereafter, a former student spotted me and I spent the rest of the night in conversation. (And both teams won. Yay!)
Then, yesterday, while I was getting ready to go to a wedding, I decided to play a video of one of my favorite comedian's as background noise. You can watch it here. Jeff Allen is probably most famous for his line "Happy Wife, Happy Life." But in this video, he starts sharing his testimony at about 21.30. I won't ruin it for you... well, actually I'm about to ruin some of it for you. So if you want to watch it for yourself, do that now, before you read the rest of this. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Seen it? Great. Now, he goes years, searching for meaning, searching for a higher power, trying desperately to find an anchor and comes to the conclusion that life is meaningless. There is nothing to be grasped in this life. And then, he listens to a tape on Ecclesiastes, and hears that King Solomon came to the same conclusions! His first exposure to Scripture is the book of Ecclesiastes. Can you believe it? The best part is - it gives him hope. And it is this hope I share with you today:
Everything is meaningless. It is only in HIM, our creator and lover of our souls, that our lives will ever have meaning.
It's Sunday, which means many of us are headed to church today. I pray that we meet with Him and that He breathes life, purpose, and hope in us today.
I was scrolling through Facebook and saw that one of my dearest friends is starting a blog. (I'm really excited! It's about eating well and losing weight the natural way - check it out here.) This reminded me, to my horror, that I have technically started a blog and yet have not posted anything since my first post.
I'd like to tell you that I haven't been writing because I've been so busy doing. You know, exercising regularly, creating wonderfully delicious meals, and staying on top of my grading and planning. But the truth is, I feel like the best word to describe the past two months is atrophy. So I guess this post is a continuation of the "before shot."
Since I can't write about training for positive change in my life, I thought I'd write about the word that has been echoing in my brain this morning. Meaningless. It's an odd word to write about, I know. What's odder still is the fact that this word brings hope to mind.
It started like this. Friday night, my usual basketball friend wasn't there when I got there. She came later when the wrestling match finished. Since I was surrounded by students, I decided to listen to my ipod. (It's better than listening to the things they talk about and the grammar - or lack thereof - they use to do so.) An accidental playlist choice led me to the album God, by Rebecca St. James, which I hadn't listened to in a long while. I decided to listen from the beginning, remembering how much I'd enjoyed many songs on that CD. One of the songs is called "That's what matters" and is based on King Solomon's book of Ecclesiastes.
Just for a laugh, imagine watching these students you know and love running up and down the court to the tune of "Meaningless, everything is meaningless, a chase after the wind." Not quite the inspiring music. Shortly thereafter, a former student spotted me and I spent the rest of the night in conversation. (And both teams won. Yay!)
Then, yesterday, while I was getting ready to go to a wedding, I decided to play a video of one of my favorite comedian's as background noise. You can watch it here. Jeff Allen is probably most famous for his line "Happy Wife, Happy Life." But in this video, he starts sharing his testimony at about 21.30. I won't ruin it for you... well, actually I'm about to ruin some of it for you. So if you want to watch it for yourself, do that now, before you read the rest of this. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Seen it? Great. Now, he goes years, searching for meaning, searching for a higher power, trying desperately to find an anchor and comes to the conclusion that life is meaningless. There is nothing to be grasped in this life. And then, he listens to a tape on Ecclesiastes, and hears that King Solomon came to the same conclusions! His first exposure to Scripture is the book of Ecclesiastes. Can you believe it? The best part is - it gives him hope. And it is this hope I share with you today:
Everything is meaningless. It is only in HIM, our creator and lover of our souls, that our lives will ever have meaning.
It's Sunday, which means many of us are headed to church today. I pray that we meet with Him and that He breathes life, purpose, and hope in us today.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
The Setting
I got back from Savannah this afternoon. I'm exhausted. Every muscle in my body is sore. But my mind and spirit are refreshed. So it's time to claim one of my dreams. It's time to write. And the phrase I've had circling my head for almost two years is "In Training."
I was in Savannah for my second half-marathon. For many reasons, this was a wonderful trip and the race itself was really the smallest part of the adventure. But with regards to the athletic challenge, this race was the worst I've ever done. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say, I had to ride the party bus at the second mile to catch up with the rest of the race. :-( Whatever. I'm not giving the medal back. It was a victory on many other levels. And I don't feel guilty about my 13.1 magnet, either, because I definitely walked every inch of that first half-marathon. But again, athletically, this race was proof of how very out of shape and practice I was.
I hadn't bothered to train -not really. I had allowed a very stressful period of about 8 months to completely derail my exercise routine. My wing man - wing woman? - Vicki and I had been adding miles each Saturday we walked, but I hadn't even been walking the past few weekends thanks to plans that kept me out of town. And I've been eating anything in sight, with the exception of foods that are actually healthy for me. One would expect the idea of a 13.1 mile hike to be a motivator to train, but I had made my time on a course in March that had many more hills. I simply didn't take the challenge seriously.
So what? I mean, everyone's had their defeats, right? It's just that it isn't entirely true that I wasn't training. While I thought I was simply not training for my event, I was in fact training for others - a couch potato marathon and health issues, for example. And that is my point. Everyone is "in training." And my goal from here on out is to make sure that my life is lived in such a way that I'm training for the right events.
This blog is going to be my way of walking that out with my physical health while exploring the spiritual concept behind that. I'm making this public even though I know I won't be satisfied with my writing. (In fact, given how out of practice I am, the thought of people reading my writing makes me cringe.) I've heard it said that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become truly proficient at something. So, please bear with me as I try to knock some of those hours out. But I know I need the accountability for the writing and the health changes.
If you're walking a similar journey, I'd love to hear what you're learning, as well!
I was in Savannah for my second half-marathon. For many reasons, this was a wonderful trip and the race itself was really the smallest part of the adventure. But with regards to the athletic challenge, this race was the worst I've ever done. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say, I had to ride the party bus at the second mile to catch up with the rest of the race. :-( Whatever. I'm not giving the medal back. It was a victory on many other levels. And I don't feel guilty about my 13.1 magnet, either, because I definitely walked every inch of that first half-marathon. But again, athletically, this race was proof of how very out of shape and practice I was.
I hadn't bothered to train -not really. I had allowed a very stressful period of about 8 months to completely derail my exercise routine. My wing man - wing woman? - Vicki and I had been adding miles each Saturday we walked, but I hadn't even been walking the past few weekends thanks to plans that kept me out of town. And I've been eating anything in sight, with the exception of foods that are actually healthy for me. One would expect the idea of a 13.1 mile hike to be a motivator to train, but I had made my time on a course in March that had many more hills. I simply didn't take the challenge seriously.
So what? I mean, everyone's had their defeats, right? It's just that it isn't entirely true that I wasn't training. While I thought I was simply not training for my event, I was in fact training for others - a couch potato marathon and health issues, for example. And that is my point. Everyone is "in training." And my goal from here on out is to make sure that my life is lived in such a way that I'm training for the right events.
This blog is going to be my way of walking that out with my physical health while exploring the spiritual concept behind that. I'm making this public even though I know I won't be satisfied with my writing. (In fact, given how out of practice I am, the thought of people reading my writing makes me cringe.) I've heard it said that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become truly proficient at something. So, please bear with me as I try to knock some of those hours out. But I know I need the accountability for the writing and the health changes.
If you're walking a similar journey, I'd love to hear what you're learning, as well!
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